Man confesses to murder after victim found in cooler behind Miami bar, MDSO says

A Miami man has confessed to killing another man with a metal pipe and leaving his body inside an ice cooler behind a local bar, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

Oscar Rivera-Peraza, 35, was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder after investigators said he admitted to the crime.

The victim, an unidentified man, was discovered last Friday in an ice cooler outside the Chicagoan Bar and Lounge in Miami.

Grisly discovery behind bar

Deputies and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the bar in the area of the 10700 block of NW 7th Avenue at around 3 p.m. Friday after employees servicing the cooler found the victim’s body, according to the arrest report.

First responders confirmed he was dead at the scene.

Investigators noted blood inside the cooler and on the victim’s body.

Confession leads to arrest

Homicide detectives linked Rivera-Peraza to the crime after discovering fraudulent identification documents he left at the scene, police said. On Tuesday, he was located and brought in for questioning.

Authorities said he waived his rights and provided a full confession, admitting that he attacked the victim with a metal pipe before placing him in the cooler.

An autopsy conducted Sunday confirmed the cause of death as homicidal violence. Rivera-Peraza has since been booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.